How Difficult is it to Learn Final Cut Pro?

Are you curious about learning Final Cut Pro but worried it might be too hard? Of course, the difficulty that comes with learning a new skill is somewhat subjective. The challenges of learning Final Cut Pro depend on factors likeprofessional aspirations, time to practice and receive feedback, and the kinds of editing projects they hope to work on.

No matter your current schedule or comfort level with Final Cut Pro, plenty of tools are available to help make learning more manageable than you might think.

What is Final Cut Pro?

Final Cut Pro is Apple’s first-party, non-linear video editing software. Final Cut Pro is a tool professional and amateur filmmakers use to edit video clips, cut and combine video files, and otherwise add or remove elements from film. Final Cut Pro is a versatile video editing tool, useful for both elaborate editing projects and personal video productions. New features of Final Cut Pro allow users to import and edit videos taken on iPhone 13s in stunning cinematic detail, making Final Cut Pro an ideal program to learn for amateur artists looking to break into the world of video editing. However, the program retains all of the essential features that make Final Cut Pro comparable to other professional video editing software, such as Adobe Premiere Pro.

Final Cut Pro users can automatically synchronize shots from multiple cameras, chroma key out green screen effects, add animated 3D titles to their work, and insert or import closed captioning directly into a file. These features have contributed to the rise in popularity of Final Cut Pro, making it an ideal program for new video editors, particularly those interested in working on elaborate personal projects to learn. While it has not reached the market saturation of Adobe Premiere Pro, partly due to its macOS exclusivity, students won’t be making a mistake if they opt to learn Final Cut Pro for their video editing needs.

Read more about what Final Cut Pro is and why you should learn it. 

What Can You Do with Final Cut Pro?

Final Cut Pro lets users edit, compile, manipulate, and otherwise cut video files from virtually any macOS device. With Final Cut Pro, users can quickly and efficiently make minor edits to video files, making the program ideal for anyone who wants to shoot their own footage (including on devices like an iPhone 13) and immediately begin working on their edits. Final Cut Pro has advanced editing capabilities for users who want to create more professional video productions, such as multi-camera editing functionality, chroma-key removal tools, and built-in 3D animation modeling capabilities.

Final Cut Pro is also an excellent skill to learn for creatives who want to work on editing their own content. Since it is such an accessible tool, you’ll be able to quickly pick up the basics of Final Cut Pro, letting creatives work on basic editing tasks without needing months of video editing training. As the landscape of digital content creation becomes more and more crowded, creatives looking to have their voices heard know that their output needs to look as professional as possible. No matter what kind of video project you aspire to create, learning how to quickly and effectively edit those projects will be invaluable for online content creators.

What Are the Most Challenging Parts of Learning Final Cut Pro?

For most students, the most challenging part of learning Final Cut Pro is learning how to use the more advanced features for complex edits. Students looking to make minor cuts and edits can learn to do so quickly, but learning how to use multiple cameras to maintain continuity between a long shot will be more challenging.

How Does Learning Final Cut Pro Compare to Other Applications?

Final Cut Pro is most directly comparable with the other major video-editing software designed with a public audience in mind, Adobe Premiere Pro. Both programs give creatives the tools they will need to edit videos and work on elaborate creative projects. Their features are comparable, and your preference is likely to come down to whether you are more comfortable working with Apple products (such as having an iPhone to shoot cinematic video files) or Adobe products (such as having experience with other Creative Cloud applications that can enhance your video editing work). Premiere Pro is slightly more common in professional video editing, but it is not so ubiquitous as to make it a mistake to learn Final Cut Pro.

The most significant logistical difference between Final Cut Pro and Premiere Pro is that Final Cut Pro is only available on macOS devices, meaning that users who don’t have access to an Apple machine will likely need to default to Premiere Pro. Final Cut Pro also has an up-front cost (of about $300), whereas Premiere Pro requires users to pay a monthly subscription fee (between $20 and $60 a month, depending on the packages and services a user opts to license). Final Cut Pro will have higher initial and potentially lower long-term costs.

Premiere Pro can also be licensed as part of a larger Adobe Creative Cloud package, which will give users access to programs like Adobe After Effects (for 3D animation), Illustrator (for vector graphics drawing), and a slew of other programs. This can be ideal for users who want to use many different software applications for their creative work, but it can also be expensive and overwhelming.

Students interested in learning more about Adobe Premiere Pro should consult Noble’s Learn page for that program.

Understand your Desires

Since Final Cut Pro and video editing skills are versatile, students should self-assess the kinds of projects they want to work on. For students who want to do simple edits to their creative content, learning Final Cut Pro will be easier for students who want to go to Hollywood and edit films.

Review Editing Techniques

Students may want to consider researching editing techniques before learning editing tools. Learning ideas like the importance of continuity, the effect of certain edits, and the process of film editing will be helpful for students. This is because it will help them understand their tools early on and help them make an informed decision about whether or not they want to learn cinematic editing skills.

Learn Final Cut Pro with Hands-on Training at Noble Desktop

Students looking to learn how to edit videos using Final Cut Pro have many options available through Noble Desktop. These courses, offered at Noble’s Manhattan campus or through live online instruction, offer students the opportunity to learn the skills they need to start a career in video editing. Students will receive hands-on experience working with Final Cut Pro in classes taught by experienced professionals with years of video editing experience. Even online, class sizes are kept small, ensuring that students won’t be competing with each other to get the attention of their instructor, who can provide them with real-time feedback and assistance. Plus, all of Noble’s courses come with the option to retake the class within a year of a student’s initial enrollment, giving students even more time to work closely with their instructors and receive direct Final Cut Pro instruction. 

For students looking to learn the ins and outs of Final Cut Pro, Noble offers a Final Cut Pro Bootcamp. This course will teach students how to use the basic and advanced features of Final Cut Pro, ensuring that students leave with a complete understanding of what the program is capable of. Students will learn the fundamental principles of film editing, such as how to clip video files, combine those clips, and how to insert transitions between clips. Then, they will work with Final Cut Pro’s more advanced video editing features and learn skills such as chroma-key replacement, multi-camera editing, color correction, and altering footage speed. These lessons will train students to begin editing their videos or compiling a demo reel for a professional editing portfolio. Students taking this course online must ensure they have access to a copy of Final Cut Pro and a macOS device that can run Final Cut Pro.

Students looking for a more career-focused training program to help them break into the world of video editing should consider Noble’s Video Editing Certificate program. This course is built with student professionalization in mind. Rather than learning basic video editing skills, students will learn all major film editing software applications, including Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro, and After Effects. These training courses will ensure that students are comfortable with every aspect of video editing and ready to work on nearly any project. In addition, since these are career-focused courses, students will receive professionalization training, including one-on-one career mentorship sessions, professional demo reel development seminars, and hands-on training with real-world editing projects. This course is an immersive experience designed to take students from amateur to professional video editors.